PLOT TWIST

Now this is a story all about how 

my life got flipped turned upside down

so I’d like to take a minute just sit right there

I’ll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Mian Chey

On Wednesday the phone goes off in E. Berger’s pocket and he’s like "it’s probably president" and then he looks at the phone and it’s actually president. We proceed to freak out. Then he picks up and president tells him that he wants E. Bergs to come be his new assistant so pack up and get over here in like 36 hours. He hangs up and we proceed to freak out some more. I punch him a couple times. And then it hits us. He has to be AP. I have to get a new comp and lead out the area. crap. We freaked out some more. President didn’t even tell me who my new comp would be so I was freaking out about that too.

So much change.

                                   And then I found out I was getting Elder Brewer!!

He’s the former AP and he is super awesome. He’s arguably the best Khmae speaker in the mission. He’s super funny and super easy to be friends with. He’s got all the cool stuff from being an AP. He’s way awesome. I've busted up 3 times during lessons already because he’s just way funny and sometimes he says the most ridiculous stuff in Khmae but somehow it just totally works and the investigator understands. I'm going to learn all the tricks from him.

I'm kinda sad though because this means he will probably stay in stung Mian Chey and train a new missionary and I’ll leave the area in 3 weeks. I’m actually super sad about that. I love this place.

                         "I don’t know why they added coconut, I liked original better"

We had stake conference this week. The first stake conference ever in Cambodia! it was super good. President Moon gave talks in both sessions and he did them all in Khmae!!!!! My jaw was on the floor the whole time! It was insane. He was way good! For a mission president that never served here it was way impressive. He even used a couple of words I didn’t know. Then Sister Moon gave her talk too. It was amazing. She had a translator but then at the end she started bearing her testimony in Khmae. It was so powerful. Super simple and really good. I cried.

                                             I love traffic. No joke it’s so fun.

So much happened this week, I don’t even remember all of it. Om Ai is doing great. All our investigators are awesome. I'm adjusting well to my new companion. Life is super good!

                                                R.I.P Elder Neuberger (1995-2015)

Shpeel: Heavenly Father loves you. A sincere prayer to feel his love for you is always answered, and usually fairly promptly. Try it.

I love all of you together and each of you individually.

Love,

Elder Osborne

I baptized a human

This week I baptized a human:

The younger one is 9 and his name is Sovena. The older boy is 14, and named Sopetra. Yeah, he's actually 14. Their mom is a recent convert in our ward. She only has one arm so she wears that shawl all the time and she's the coolest. They all walk 20 minutes to church every Sunday.

I baptized the younger brother, Sovena. He's super funny. For every single question we ask him during lessons he always answers "Thoma ethss Monthon!". He was so stoked to get baptized for the longest time but on the day of the baptism he ran away as they were walking to church because he was scared. We were bummed so as a last resort we sent Sopetra on a mission to go find him and bring him back to the church. A miracle happened and they both showed up 15 minutes before the baptism started!!! It was great and everything went smoothly. Then afterwards they both got up in the front and shared their testimonies and it was super cute. They were nervous but they just said what they knew. It was great.

Food in Cambodia is way good.

This is what I make for breakfast everyday:

And then for lunch we go get something like this for a buck fifty everyday:

I don't eat dinner because I'm too tired.

Life is easy.

They say New York is a concrete jungle. Pshhh.

This week I went on an exchange with Elder Hall. It was super fun. This exchange was different though because he is new to my area so I got to lead out all day! I planned all the lessons, called all the people, rode my bike in front, started and taught most of the lessons, and gave the commitments. It was definitely a new experience for me. I think I learned more about missionary work in that one day than any other day so far. Every missionary is different and has a different pace and teaching style. It was good to see how Elder Hall does his missionary work and learn from his strengths.

It was also way cool because I had so much energy all day. I had to stay focused and think about my investigators and who we were going to meet next during the whole day. I didn't have any time to wonder about how Jay-Z and Beyoncé are doing nowadays or when Kanye's new album is dropping. I think because of that, the Lord strengthened me and gave me the energy to do what he needed me to do. It was really awesome.

I started a segment in English class called "Rhyme Time":

It took a couple minutes of explaining but they caught on eventually.

Om Ai: He came back this week so we got to teach him twice. A weird thing happened though. When we saw him the first time this week he seemed a little bit different. He got mad at his kid during the lesson and didn't really understand what we were trying to explain to him. We asked him about his trip and he told us that he hadn't been reading or praying while he was gone. Then we went back 5 days later to meet with him again. As soon as we walked in we knew something was different, but for the better this time. He was smiling and happy to meet with us. We shared our lesson and asked him questions to which he responded with great answers. Then at the end of the lesson after we said the prayer the cutest thing happened. His 5 year old step son came in crying. Om Ai went over to him, bent down and picked him up, hushed his crying, and gently laid him down in a pile of clothes to go to sleep.

Shpeel: Reading and praying daily are the essentials for a reason. They really do have an impact on our lives. Just like with Om Ai, even one week off can make such a big difference. Sometimes we think of them as so basic and then neglect to even do them. I know that when we put effort into doing the small things the rest falls into place. Heavenly Father gave us the scriptures for a reason. He asks us to pray to Him every day for a reason. He knows best. I am so glad to be in this country helping people to find the happiness that comes from this gospel. I know it is true.

Love,

Elder Osborne

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kvlgexm1k7m9fax/AACI0gApA6JOYHnltTpPBXi5a?dl=0

8

                                            Our friendly neighborhood monk:

                                           We had another baptism this week!!!! 

Everyone in Cambodia is tiny. Everyone calls me Elder Palm Tree. Or Elder Uterus because apparently that's what my name sounds like lol.

The girl we baptized is Srei Lin. She is 13 and is a cousin with 2 RM's in our ward ( = fish in a barrel ). She speaks fluent Khmae and Vietnamese but she can't read either language. She has a lot of faith though and a great support system so she'll do great in the ward.

The water for the baptismal font wasn't working so we had to reroute all the water from the bathrooms to the garden hose outside and then stick it through a window into the baptismal font. By the time Elder Berger got in the water it was almost to his upper shin. Good thing Srei Lin is short.

This week it was the King of Cambodia's birthday so everyone had the whole week off. They love their holidays here. A lot of people went out of town so we didn't get to meet with Om Ai. But I'm sure he had a fun week in the provinces.

                                       Li is our trusty member help. His bike broke. 

Last week for Mothers Day I was preparing for a nice fast and testimony meeting. I walk into the chapel and see there are many more people there than usual, including a bunch of our investigators. Good day. All the youth are gathered on the stand for a special musical number. Everything is running smoothly. The sacrament ends and the Bishop starts his testimony about mothers. And then everything turns real Cambodian real fast. The Bishop asks Elder NB to come up and take pictures. Oh no. The Bishop then proceeds to call every family with a mother up to the stand 1 by 1. He gives the kids a gift bag and a rose to present to their mom. Then they pose for a picture and awkwardly walk back off the stage. This goes on for the duration of the hour and some, leaving no time for anyone to bare their testimony. That's what I like to call "bodia".

                                                          Out for a stroll:

The new guy in our house, Elder Hall, has a lot of tricks up his sleeves. He is actually the best debater in Utah and one of the top 10 in all of America!!  All week we just give him a topic to talk about and then listen to him talk for 20 minutes straight. He knows everything. He has also lost 80+ pounds on his mission so far. He's a straight baller.

     These guys went to a lot of work to find some decent water pressure to take a shower. 

Happiness is a choice. I'm happy here.

Shpeel: The music of the gospel is definitely an instant classic. Mostly because the alliteration in that talk is legendary but the message is good too. Sometimes we go through the motions of life, going to church every week, reading a verse a day, praying for our food. But we don't really feel it. It's just something we do. There were some times in my life where this was the case for me. I look back and see that I wasn't putting in the effort that is required to actually hear the music of the gospel. It takes effort. I hope we can all learn to tune out the "screamo" of the world and focus on the sweet tunes of the gospel. 

Love you.

Love, 

Elder Osborne

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kvlgexm1k7m9fax/AACI0gApA6JOYHnltTpPBXi5a?dl=0

Love

                     Find the Elder. 

Just got off skype with the fam!!!! Love you fam!

                                          

Srei Niet is the coolest person ever. She started learning with the missionaries a couple of months ago and she's already read  3/4 of the Book of Mormon!!! She's awesome. She chose Bong Tol to baptize her because they are neighbors and we always taught them together. He was only baptized a couple months ago too! It's so awesome that they are both lifting each other up. We plan on baptizing their whole neighborhood.This week Elder Neuberger and I had our first baptism together!!! 

We only had 1 bike for a day: 

                    We have an awesome group of young men.                                                  

They are the coolest and they are all super anxious to help us with our work. Which is good because we're getting so many lessons we are probably going to have to go on splits this Saturday!!!

The English Class Legend: This week we played Jeopardy with our English class. It was way fun and everyone got involved. Well, one of the 500 point questions was "sing a song in English". We just put it on there for fun. We thought the person that got it would just get up and not know any and sit down. we thought. This kid got up and sang a whole verse of "take me to your heart" and the whole class of 30 people joined in for the chorus!!!! It was so epiccccc! I wish I could have videoed it!

Om Ai's step kids: 

                                       

Om Ai is doing super well! He talked to the bishop about getting married and he comes to church every week and gives awesome answers in the recent convert / investigator class. Also his sock game is on point: 

Elder Allred's face swelled up this week:

 

It started swelling and it wouldn't stop. Then he got hives all over his body. I had to use my EMT knowledge to save him by asking a pharmacist for an antihistamine. Once again I saved the day.

The weeks keep getting better. The people I talk to keep making more and more sense. I made a couple of phone calls in Khmae. Everything is going great. We have another baptism lined up for this week. 

Heavenly Father loves you.

I love you

Love, Elder Osborne

Just look at the pictures

In 1975 a man named Pol Pot came to Cambodia and caused the genocide of 1/4 of this nation. Today I saw a glimpse into the lives of the people that suffered so much pain and are still trying to recover. 

I don't want to try to explain the Khmae Rouge, you can read all about it if you want. I just want to say that standing on the ground where so many people were killed and seeing pieces of bone still in the ground increased my love for these people immensely. They suffered so much. This country was forever changed. 

Okay! So, big news! Elder Neuberger is staying with me and going for his 5th transfer in StungMeanChey! Super cool! I'm super stoked to be serving another 6 weeks with him. He's the king of the dust. We've got a bunch of baptisms lined up this month. It's going to be an awesome transfer. 

Last Monday I got to brush up on my haggling skills that I learned as a 10 year old in China. We went to Psaa Thmei. It was ridiculous. It's super touristy so that's kinda weird but it was super cool too. Apparently the elders have a legacy there because every store owner knew who we were and yelled elder at us. Super cool. 

There is a twelve year old in our ward that hangs out at the church all day everyday with his little brother. His name is Ettipol (literally translates to "influence". that would be a dope 80's rapper name). He used to go to school but his grandpa stopped the money flow to their family so they just chill all day. Way typical for Cambodia. But anyway, he has been bugging me for the past 5 weeks to get a bay blade and play with him. So I did.
  

                                         We did battle and it was super epic. 

I love our ward so much.

Om Ai: Loooooool. I love Cambodia. So this week we go over to teach the word of wisdom and chastity to him, which usually isn't a big deal for Cambodians because for some weird reason most of them follow these two anyway. So we get through teaching both of the commandments and he seems to understand it all. And then we ask the question we've all been waiting for: Are you and the neakming (aunt/older woman) married? Loooooool it was so funny. He just looks at us and chuckles for a second. And then like all Cambodians he repeats the word we just said. "married". So we wait for a second and ask him again. And he's like "nawwwwww". Yep, that's what we thought. Sooo, that means he has to get married first but I think it will probably happen. So we have to hold off on his baptism for a while.

                                                       Om Ai and the neakming. 

                                                 Sleeping Buddha angel baby. 

                                We had a baptism in our ward this week! 

His name is NaaRow and he is wayyyy cool. Elder Allred and Elder Sok taught him. He hangs out at the church all the time too so we see him and have a good relationship with him. The baptism was super awesome and we had a bunch of people show up and watch. 30 seconds before it started I was asked to speak about the Holy Ghost for a couple of minutes. I kinda wanted to die for a sec but then I remembered the gift of tongues and I was like  - bring it on. So I got up there and I read 2nd Nephi 32:5 and bore my testimony for a few minutes and it was super cool. The power of the gift of tongues definitely took a hit because of my fear but it worked out alright nonetheless.

Elder Sok and I went on an exchange this week. Elder Sok is the coolest. He's super chill and humble and sincere. It was a good day. The highlight definitely was going to a blind dude's house and talking with him (well, it was actually just him talking the whole time) about the atonement. He's blind and his arms flail around when he talks so elder Sok got a nice smack to the face because he got too close. It was totally worth the pain though because I got the best picture of all time while he was in mid sentence:  

I love blind people. BTW Cambodians are super touchy so that knee grab right there is normal. Actually its way tame. I won't go into any more detail.

                                    From my Cambodian picture dictionary:  

                                     "Moses, these instructions aren't working"  

Shpeel: "Cake is tasty but the gospel is tastier" -Elder Neuberger 2015

So in Cambodia there are a bunch of Christian churches. All around the city and especially out in the provinces. They are all doing good for the people of Cambodia I'm sure. But sometimes they make it a little bit difficult for us. Many times when we contact people they ask us how many kilos of rice we give every week because most denominations do that. This week we met an older guy and he said he had learned about Jesus before. He said he loved it because they would hand out candy and cake every week to the people and the kids. They stopped going when the church stopped handing out cake. That's when the Big Berger came in and dropped the line "Cake is tasty but the gospel is tastier". I almost busted up laughing right then but I started thinking about it and its actually a pretty true statement.

Are we members of the church for the "cake"? The girls, the fun activities, the lower tuition? Yes, those things are good and we can totally take advantage of all the good things this church has to offer. But if our testimony is not centered on Christ and the gospel then we should probably rethink things. 

Just a good thing to think about.

I love you all.

Love,

Elder Osborne

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zo5ci7e18szddp3/AABa4XGlvol1y5w4zuuKGsU_a?dl=0